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We've got a lot of new players, so I thought it would be a good time to refresh you on some of KoN's harassment and touching policies. Please take the time to read through this.

KoN has been around for a bunch of years, and I say that because fairly recently we've grown so much that we realized we needed a harassment policy (1). So a few short years ago we put one together, and I'm going to put some more words here about it, and then link to it below.

KoN's harassment policy hinges on communication. If someone is doing something you don't like, say so. You will not get in trouble, and there is no stigma at our game about "oh so-and-so isn't cool because they said no to this RP this one time." We're a game, it's supposed to be fun. If you're uncomfortable, say something (it's okay to break character to do this, and we recommend it!). If the other situation isn't solved by that, feel free to walk away.

There's a few more topics so please bear with me...

Our rules say:
"Other than weapon contact in combat situations, physical contact is permitted only when both players consent. Any rule that involves two players interacting where physical contact might get involved can be summarized by that last sentence." (2)

In short, don't touch people unless they communicate that it's okay. Think about our searching rules, our "physical search" only works if both players consent to the idea, and at any time can be stopped and changed to a detailed search. This gets a little fuzzy with touch range spells, but generally people touch gently on the arm and if you don't want to be touched please say something. Your character can't stop the caster from casting the spell on you, but you the player can be vocal and say "please don't touch me" and some literal hand-waving can happen to indicate the spellcast. Along the same lines as the harassment policy, if a player "out of game" tells you not to touch them, don't touch them.

An important thing to note: This is an 18+ game. Adult situations and themes will occur. In the same way you stop to ask out of game "physical or detailed?" you should stop and ask out of game "Is it okay if I sit on your lap?" for example. Be explicit and direct with your intentions to avoid any confusion. Out of game calls happen all the time, so don't ever be afraid to ask out of game questions especially about adult situations and themes.

The third topic is actually the first: the harassment policy. If a verbal "no" doesn't solve the problem, or if this is a recurring problem, report the situation to any of the KoN marshals, or ask a KoN staff member to find a marshal for you. You don't need to talk about the situation with any random logistics/makeup/whatever volunteer, but it's important to find someone you're comfortable with. At some point the situation is going to get reviewed by at least two marshals, usually the 1st and 2nd marshal. That's a little scary, but it's part of our real life jobs to keep confidences and not change our behavior.

On that topic, I will let you behind the curtain just a little bit: We take every report seriously. We involve as few people as we can in the discussion, but due dilligence is always taken. Not every report results in action, but every report is collected, filed, and investigated. For the purposes of the harassment policy, we don't care if you're a newbie who thinks they're at a ren faire or gary fucking gygax(3): Every report is investigated in a manner as fair and unbiased as humanly possible.

Thanks for your patience. This part of the job is hard but we're doing our best to keep everyone safe and comfortable at the game we love :)